ROSTOV-ON-DON. Dec 2 (Interfax-AVN) - Lawyers for three Chechen rebels, whom the Georgian Prosecutor General's Office decided to extradite to Russia, have appealed against the decision in court, Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Sergei Fridinsky told Interfax on Monday.
The suspects used their right to appeal against the ruling of Georgian prosecutors and filed the protest in the Tbilisi City Court on Monday, he said.
"We hope it will not take Georgian courts long to support the extradition," Fridinsky said.
The court will consider the extradition issue no earlier than Thursday, he added.
The Russian Prosecutor General's Office insists on the extradition of six Chechen rebels. Thirteen armed rebels were detained on the Russian-Georgian border in August 2002. Five of them were extradited to Russia in October. Several days ago the Georgian Prosecutor General's Office decided to extradite three more rebels. Two rebels turned out to be citizens of Georgia and they would be put on trial under Georgian law.